Wang Chu, Cocco Alessio, Lin Chung-Chi, Billen Johan
Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium.
National Changhua University of Education, Department of Biology, Changhua 50007, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Arthropod Struct Dev. 2022 May;68:101154. doi: 10.1016/j.asd.2022.101154. Epub 2022 Apr 19.
The morphology of the infrabuccal pocket has been studied with light and electron microscopy (SEM, TEM) in 19 species of Strumigenys ants. The structural organization is similar in workers, queens and males, and supports the involvement of the pocket in the filtration of food particles before they can enter the digestive tract. A carpet of posteriorly oriented bristle hairs on the hypopharynx first guide ingested food into the pocket, where large solid particles are compacted into a pellet that will be regurgitated. The remaining products enter the digestive tract through a filtering wall of parallel hair combs lining the pharynx interior that are directed against the food flow. This mechanical filtering allows only liquids and sufficiently small food particles to enter the digestive system. The wall of the infrabuccal pocket is differentiated into a conspicuous glandular epithelium, of which the ultrastructural characteristics can be understood as an adaptation against the frequent shape changes of the pocket. The gland elaborates a non-proteinaceous secretion, although its functional significance still remains unknown.
利用光学显微镜和电子显微镜（扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜）对19种弓背蚁属蚂蚁的颊下袋形态进行了研究。工蚁、蚁后和雄蚁的结构组织相似，这支持了颊下袋在食物颗粒进入消化道之前参与过滤的作用。下咽上向后生长的刚毛地毯首先将摄入的食物引导到颊下袋中，在那里大的固体颗粒被压实成一个小球，然后被反刍出来。其余产物通过咽部内部与食物流动方向相反的平行毛梳组成的过滤壁进入消化道。这种机械过滤只允许液体和足够小的食物颗粒进入消化系统。颊下袋壁分化为明显的腺上皮，其超微结构特征可被理解为对颊下袋频繁形状变化的一种适应。该腺体分泌一种非蛋白质分泌物，但其功能意义仍然未知。
